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Much to my surprise, it passed inspection!
A coupled of things the inspector pointed out(but didn't fault me on) was that my front discs were 1mm under the limit(14mm instead of 15mm) and that before my next inspection I would need to replace the drivers side upper ball joint. Both simple and cheap to fix. On the hatch I've cracked cheap discs on the track but on this one I know the cheap discs and pads will work just fine.

Decision: Approved

Now winter can come. Just in time for the winter tires being required by law(and common sense)

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Not exactly todays information, but the hatch failed inspection on two issues.

The left side E-brake cable is stretched too much, the braking power is insufficient(over the limit by 3%) and an upper right ball joint. The latter I can fix easy and it'll take about thirty minutes or so. The cable though is hard to change as it's in a PITA location and you can't see anything much less get your hands in there. While that I can do, getting the cable has proven to take a bit more time than I thought. Every place has cables for the lesser models with drums. These had 4x discs as stock, while the same cable is used in the more common sedans as my sedan, the cables are no longer common items in stock(surprise. )

Well at least we got running water in the garage now. Gave the old girl a much needed wash, polish and wax. After a proper wash some Mequiars ultimate for the roof and hood, then a good protective wax.

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So facts are that this car sat unused and untouched for about two years until I had it inspected late last year. I had decided to put my time and effort in to someone else. Admittedly I should have done different. Getting back in it after a few years is like going back to 2006, I remember why I bought it and why I still have it.... and that I still had maintenance to do.

Before I could get it on the road last fall I had to do that e-brake cable and that upper ball joint. With these fixed I headed to the inspection station only for them to fail me on a single lower ball joint! That 20€ part swapped it was legal again! Being late fall 2018 at the time I didn't get to enjoy the car much before snow fell and I had to store it away again!

I had to drive it to the garage in the snow since it looked like the crap was down to stay. Not fun with semi-slicks I can tell you.

When spring arrived the car was legal - but I had a very important thing to sort out and that was the timing belt. The old stock one was way too loose since the head had been decked 2mm and the tensioner was no longer up to the task of taking that much slack out of the belt. I also had to clean up the timing side after an oil filter explosion I had just before I put the car away for two years. The new belt was out of a Mitsubishi 4G64 engine. The belt was the same size with the exception of being one tooth shorter! Just what I needed!

Before

After

The once again faded red paint had to be polished up again. It's never going to be perfect but I can deal with it being faded.

Before:

After:

After that I took the car for it's first time out to a classic car event and it did the roadtrip flawlessly. To my delight they had reserved parking for cars older than 30 years. I was shown a spot on the front parking lot and did't have to park half way across the city! Only problem on that whole trip was that my ass was no longer that used to the sparco seats so it took some time for my ass to get calibrated to sitting in them for longer periods.

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On my way home from Galanttis place and the ringmeet, a bearing started to make a slight grinding noise. Nothing too big but noticeable. Then on the following week on my commute it would start to become a bigger noise every day and eventually it was howling like the hound of Baskerville. And this is with only commuting (45km). These bearings are at least 16 years old and have been through thousands of laps.

The car sat for a while since I was mostly away from home and on the bike. I diagnosed the problem and new parts should arrive tomorrow.
Ideally, I would have gotten a whole new control arm, but they're not available so a bearing kit will have to suffice. I also don't have a press of any kind so the actual pressing in has to be outsourced. Thankfully in my line of work I know all of them so I have someone taking care of that already - once I take the suspension arm and the bearing to them tomorrow.

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New bearing showed up this morning, along with some much needed seals for the winter beater. I promptly took the hub and bearing to a friend who pressed it in during the day. Picked it up after work and then put it back together.

No more noise, all is quiet! ...well as quiet as a car with no insulation or carpets can be.
I did notice a failed exhaust hanger. The exhaust now moves a bit too much and touches the car in tight cornering. I'll need to replace that asap.